Can a credit card company collect a debt after 10 years?

In 1993 I had a opened up an account with a bank for a credit card. The bank is now out of business. For over 3 years I never recieved any statements for this card. I conatcted the bank so many times about this problem. Never to get the problem solved.

It was placed into 2 different collection agencies 5 years ago. I took it to my attorney, he tried to come up with an agreement to make payment arrangements with the bank. They never could agree on any certain payment arrangements then. I did get a letter from the bank saying that the account was closed and that I owed nothing. My attorney said to let it be and not worry.

For the past 4 weeks, I have been calls from a company that is reluctant to give me the name of the company or the name of the persons who call me. All I get is demands to pay on this bill. The people who call are not English speaking and have heavy accents.

I need to know if I will have to pay on this debt seeing it is so old. Serious answers please.

Thanx

It has to be past the statute of limitations by now. So I would agree with your lawyer. Go to NDRC.com and check to be sure.

The only way they can collect is if you agree to pay them.

yea,they can

If you never paid it then, yes, you still owe them the money.

go back to ur attorney and tell him whats been happening, does a number appear on the caller id? if so give it to the attorney also he can more than likely get info out of them.

If you have a letter from the bank (which held the debt) essentially cancelling your debt, then you have nothing to worry about. That doesn't mean that someone won't bother you about such an old debt - valid or not.

Next time they call, ask for a registered letter with their company and their authorization to collect this debt. If they refuse, then it's a scam for sure. If they DO send you a letter like that, go to the lawyer and get to the bottom of it.

good luck

Hmm. Your attorney did say let it be and to not worry about it. I would be concerned about a company wishing to collect money from you without even disclosing the name of who they are, or who they are representing. That sounds suspiscious, especially after five years of hearing absolutely nothing. Do you still have it in writing that you owe nothing from the bank? I would try to get back in contact with your attorney and see how to handle these calls because it just sounds very shadey. Don't pay a dime to this company until you are fully informed on who they are and how they are aware of this debt that was supposively nothing.

It sounds to me like you have already done the right thing in consulting your lawyer. If he/she says to leave it and ignore it, then that's exactly what I'd do. After all, who knows better than your lawyer? At the sam time, if the people who are calling you aren't willing to give you their details, then I would be unwilling to give them yours. You also state that you have a letter from the bank stating that the debt is no longer repayable, so if you have this then the debt is void. Not knowing which country you're in though doesn't help, however, good luck with it, don't worry about it, and I hope it goes well for you.

Of course you have to pay it. You used the credit card and did not pay for the goods or services received. There's no foregiveness after X amount of time on debt--usually there's substantial interest instead.

The bank has been sloppy and careless about collections, and it sounds like they've out-sourced their old accounts-payable, but none of their ineptitude relieves you of responsbility for your debts.

The letter from the bank saying you owed nothing was wrong. You knew that, but took your attorney's advice to let it be. Talk to your lawyer again--or a better one, since I think he gave you terrible advice.

Set up a payment plan and make the first payment immediately. Have your attorney start negotiations to reduce or eliminate any interest owed, since you have it in writing that you did not owe anything and trusted that letter to be correct.

If you don't deal with this, your credit could plummit, making it hard to finance a car, rent that next apartment, or obtain a mortgage. That's serious stuff.

Every state is different as to the limitations placed on the time you have to collect a debt, but after ten years, it is almost certainly too late to collect on this debt. Once an account is in collections if they cannot collect by a certain time they have to file a lawsuit to preserve their claim. If they have not filed suit by this time, the court will refuse to hear their case which basically means they have no legal recourse to collect. You should absolutely talk to your lawyer as to the specifics of your case because all states have different systems, and there are ways that companies can preserve their claims, but it sounds to me, from the description of the people calling you, that someone has hacked into an uncollected accounts receivable database and is trying to scam you. You should watch out, because these databases have other personal info as well, which could be used to steal you identity. If this is a "legitmate" company, but they are unable to legally collect the debt due to the statute of limitations running out, you can sue them for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Act plus whatever laws you state has to protect consumers. Once again, talk to your lawyer for details. By the way if the bank has presented a letter saying you do not owe a debt, then they have forgiven the debt. If it was a mistake on their part, that is their fault and they have to eat the loss as does anyone who "bought" the debt from them.

if the bank sent a letter saying you owe nothing that should hold up in court next time they call you tell them you are reporting the number for harrasment and call the phone company and do so

There is a 7 year limit to most collections - but that is 7 years from your last payment. So, if you don't pay for 6 yrs, and then make 1 payment, the time starts over again. First, you can put the company that is calling you "on notice" and tell them that you do not wish to receive any more phone calls, all correspondence has to be via mail. Don't ever give anyone any information on yourself, even if you think it might be legit.

Secondly, if it has been more than 7 years since the debt was incurred, odds are you don't owe the money any longer. Unless it was any kind of an educational expense (tuition, class fees, student loans, etc...) those have no time limitations. Check with your state, as each state has different laws regarding the statute of limitations on collection for various kinds of debt.

Odds are, that a new company "bought" some old debts to try to collect, and your's is among them. It's not unusual for collection agencies to purchase unpaid debts in hopes that a new contact might make you pay. When they call again, tell them that you want proof of the purchases and proof as to who they are and how they came to have your information. Legally, they have to provide you with such information.

Since you have a letter - and I hope you kept it - from the financial institution stating that you don't owe them anything, when you get their mailing address, send them a copy of that letter, stating that if they continue, you will consider this harrassment and you will contact the state authorities. What they are doing is considered illegal, and can bring hefty fines.

Hope this helps

go online to truecredit.com and get you 3 in one credit report. this report will show you all the lenders you owe money to, including the folks who are calling you.

if for some reason they are not listed on the credit report then it shoulden't matter to you cause they will have no affect on your credit rating....

It is true, creditors can still collect after 10 yrs no matter what, depending on what their contract stated when you signed. They may have put in the contract that they will take any means necessary to collect at any time. I have seen it so many times before.

Other option would be to try to look up their company online. I have also seen creditors call and i would look up their company online and see that they are frauds and been taking advantage of people for years.

They can try to collect, but under the Statute Of Limitations you are protected and will not have to pay them back.

Read the article on the Statute Of Limitations on old debt and how it works.

Ok, heres the real deal.

you you made any type of payment to them before the statute of limitations expired then it would have been re-uped. Depending on your state upto 15 years on this type of debt.

What you need to do is to send the collection agency a request to validate the debt. Once they send you the info, make sure that the statute of limitations (sol) is up, and if it is, send then a Cease and disist letter, certified mail, return reciept. If the SOL it up, there is nothing they can do LEGALLY, accept ASK you to pay the debt back.

Good luck